Red Sun Over Beacon 2.1 - "Patch Notes"


A/N: Hello! If you got to this page by looking at the last chapter and have not read through the entire fic, you might want to head back one more chapter(if you were just peering in) or jump back to the beginning/where you were before: this pseudo-author's note chapter has... basically spoilers for most of the fic. In-depth spoilers, no less.

And fair warning to anyone who sees this: you may not want to look at the reviews for a chapter until you're a few chapters ahead. You might accidentally spoil yourself for something further ahead starting as early as Chapter 6.

All chapters are now updated

IMPORTANT NOTES BELOW.


A/N(12/15/2019): I had an idea for V3 that I've been working a lot on. Unfortunately, it's at the beginning, and events that it builds on happen relatively quickly in the volume. V3 will officially start on 12/29/2019, and the new plan has a two chapter... "side story."

A/N(11/17/2019): So! The poll was completed, and it's come up "use what I can from V6 w/o Relics." Unfortunately, this does mean that the Mountain Glenn arc has not changed. However, the good news is that V3 is starting to go smoothly. I may very well come back to the ideas I had for that...

A/N(8/11/2019): I'll be real with you: there isn't much of an excuse for an unplanned hiatus of this magnitude. Best I've got for you is that honestly I'd been slipping out of the fandom since V5, completely dropped in V6, and then sprinkle some real life issues on top of that. Good news is though, I'm back, stable and reinvigorated, which is nice.

I'll also be real on this: I'm... probably going to stick with my green-eyed scarless Adam. On the scar, I've got an idea that'd arguably make it the Point of Divergence for Adam not being as insane. On the green eyes, it's a combination of too annoying to change and personally I like having that difference. After this point, roughly around 9/11/2019 is when I'll push out the next chunk of updates for the first third of V2. Then 10/13 for the second, then 11/11 to finish it, and hopefully by 12/15, V3. If my backlog gets large enough though, I may very well be able to push that faster!

A/N(11/11/2018): "Oh hey man, where have you been for two months?" Yeaaaah, so, the second act of Volume 1 got a little away from me. By that I mean it nearly doubled in size. So, something important actually happened: RWBY's finally revealed a major chunk of the past! With that, however, comes a question: I do plan on going forward with the fic beyond Volume 3.

With that being said, I also had my own ideas for where things could go, namely getting rid of the Relics on account of, at the time, not knowing entirely what they were going to do in the grand scheme of things. Instead, the fic would've focused around another mythology altogether, and a plotline focusing primarily on the Maidens. With this new information though, there's a choice that I'll be leaving as a poll on my profile: where do I go from here? Continuing on my own path(but taking as much from V6+ as possible), Continuing with the removal of the Relics(but otherwise keeping everything), or Stay close to V6(including Relics)?

With this being a very important question that will change the entire path of the fic, this will remain even after the transition to Volume 3, likely placed in the first chapter of it.

A/N(9/8/2018): Oh heavens, just look at the time. Seems like my vacation time is up! There's just one thing to actually get to before we can start digging deep into Volume 3, and that is one last revision to fix up a few things. Don't worry, this is not, in fact, a total rewrite, nor will I need to go so extreme as to delete and reupload the fic. However, I'm making this because my update schedule might look a little choppy, and those coming in during the middle of these updates might be a tad bit confused.

Think of it less as a rewrite as much as it is... a patch, with this being the patch notes. As this chapter is posted, the first one will be put out. The updates will be in big multi-chapter chunks: Emerald Forest, 'Cardinal Sins'(revamp of 0-0 through Cardinal Sins into a full arc), Black and Weiss(least changes), V2 polishing, Mountain Glenn.

So, what is the purpose of this chapter besides just a general notice? Simple: this 'chapter' is the list of actual changes just in case someone doesn't want to actually read through this monster of a fic yet again(but feel free to).

It's also to say exactly what will be changed in the meantime: Volume 1 is getting a near-total rewrite. While some shreds of the old will remain, and all of the events will stay, it's getting a fresh coat of paint. Sort of like a remastering, so to speak. "Best foot forward," and all that.

Once Volume 3 is here, this will be completely changed into a summary.

With that said, the current changes are...


Volume 1, Emerald Forest(Ch1-3)

- The 'Hats' scene has been moved elsewhere, replaced with the flashback of Adam and Blake on the train from later in the volume to provide a better setup. Adam is slightly less melodramatic(see: does not effectively request Blake kill him) due to not having more of his character already built up.

- At the base of Adam's blade is engraved a Mistralian symbol: Chuugi, or 'loyalty.' It serves as a reminder to him to follow the 'right' path—at least, right in his eyes.

- Adam is slightly more petty and hateful, especially in encounters with Weiss. Implication he knows of(and hates) Winter.

- Wilt is given an origin: it was created by Akakuni, a forger in Mistral famous for his crimson blades. Unfortunately, his death in a gang order gone wrong put a swift end to that growing fame. Ruby noticing this leaves her and Adam getting off on a slightly better foot. Slightly.

- Yang is more protective over Ruby, even jumping in to "protect" her from two Young Beowolves.

- Adam is snatched by the Nevermore due to being just that angry, rather than jumping onto it.

- Adam tries his best to shout and give more militaristic orders during the Death Stalker fight. It doesn't work out well for him, with Ruby eventually taking the reins with her more tactical, individual-based thinking.

- Edward Almond, the White Fang Lieutenant, is introduced earlier on as the new leader of the White Fang. He is the one who brings Torchwick the new Dust.


Volume 1, Coffee Break/Cardinal Sins(Ch4-11)

- Ruby keeps her cloak off at first in Beacon, trying to fit in rather than be immediately noticed.

- When Weiss snaps at Ruby, Adam goes to talk to her after Weiss leaves rather than snapping back at Weiss.

- Yang directly challenges Adam for their first fight, much to Goodwitch's dismay.

- RWAY stays mostly separated with Adam rebuffing Ruby trying to bring him into the fold even after his fight with Yang and Weiss originally put off by Adam then by Yang. In response, Yang, rather than challenging Adam again in combat training, rematches him in Beacon's gym and loses again.

- RWAY has their first team battle 'off-screen' which is only won due to them being all around stronger rather than any teamwork. Yang and Weiss clash heavily over their performances: Ruby being unable to take control, Weiss trying to take command, Yang refusing to listen to Weiss and sending the occasional 'friendly fire' Adam's way, Adam being a lone wolf. Yang and Weiss almost come to blows before Ruby stops them. Adam appreciates that. Weiss shuts herself off from RWAY.

- Adam more disdainful of school life.

- Semi-flirting with Yang axed, replaced with Adam trying to understand why she keeps attempting(and failing) to beat him.

- The clashes between the team come to a head when, after Yang makes and fails one last attempt to beat Adam, she snaps and ambushes him in the locker room afterward. In a more brutal, unarmed fight without aura, Adam realizes that she's fighting for Ruby's sake("He could understand loyalty like that"), and the two reach a sort of unspoken agreement through their fighting. Perhaps not full friendship, but certainly understanding. The fight leaves the locker room a mess, however, and gets them in severe trouble. Weiss just tries to distance herself as far away from that as possible.

- Ozpin is pleased with none of them, drops hints of knowing about what Adam and Yang got up to in their pasts, and warns them that they're dangerously close to all being expelled for the year. He brings in some 'chaperones' to effectively act as social workers and rolemodels for them: Team CFVY, who are third-years in this canon.

- 'Hats' scene is a flashback here.

- CFVY and RWBY pair off. Coco, revealed to be the heiress to a major fashion company, goes off shopping with Weiss and tries to get her to warm up a little. Weiss explains her problems with Ruby being unable to lead, Yang being a brute and Adam being a vast list of insults but Coco sees through it and explains she's a lot like her. Coco reveals she used to be a lot like Weiss when she was a freshman, from the arrogance to the daddy issues, and suggests she maybe offer an olive branch to everyone rather than just "sucking up to the leader."

- Ruby pairs off with Fox, who(after plenty of listening) tries to get her to understand that while she might not feel in control, it might be because she's too busy trying to lead alone and not trying to just work with her team. Being a leader is (paradoxically) more than leading, after all.

- As they work out, Yatushashi tries to get Yang to realize that maybe she shouldn't be so overprotective of Ruby before other people get hurt or she lets her anger get ahead of her.

- Velvet and Adam take a walk through the gardens where Adam proves himself surprisingly more kind and understanding when he's alone with another faunus. He reveals that he's a faunus to Velvet, and their talk is mostly pleasant, though primarily because Velvet decides to sidestep his problems with Weiss and finds he has few with Ruby(if she'd speak up) and Yang. CFVY later comes to the conclusion that he's wearing a mask around the others, and that the Adam Velvet saw was the 'real' Adam.

- Adam still protects Velvet when she's being bullied, but rather than being thankful she tries to get him not to interfere out of fear he(or other faunus) will draw Cardin's ire, instead. She'd rather shoulder the brunt of the bullying. Adam adamantly(ha) refuses, this turns to an argument which turns to a shouting match until Adam implies Velvet is weak(internally, comparing to Ghira). To prove that it is by choice, she spars with him and makes a bet: first to a solid hit, she wins, he has to give peace a chance. He wins, she'll tell Cardin to go get bent. Adam is confident, but Velvet shows that she is on his level and wins. Adam comes to respect Velvet more.

- Adam is revealed to be a faunus before Defrosting, leading to Weiss better understanding her unfortunate situation.

- It is the bet with Velvet that causes him to check on Weiss in Defrosting.

- One day, Ruby suddenly starts wearing her cloak around. Adam, having been more or less teaching Ruby about leadership and ignoring old "big brotherly" instincts, finds it suspicious. Yang says it's a lot like a security blanket("Just don't tell Rubes I said that."), so it's probably the stress from classes getting to her.

- Further investigation leads Adam to find that she's been getting blackmailed by Cardin(favorite tactic) in revenge for him getting humiliated by Adam. He's just making her life hell under threat of releasing photos he got of her in her rather childish Grimm pajamas(used from some old concept art of Ruby). He uses this against her in the same conversation over milkshakes to get her to stand up for herself by going on the offensive with Cardin.

- This backfires severely: Cardin, a cornered animal with little popularity left to spare, winds up tearing Ruby's cape in the ensuing altercation. It's revealed that Ruby's cape is special: weaved with some of Summer's own aura, which is why it reacts with her aura, expands, and seems to otherwise be part of her Semblance at times. This method of "auraweaving," however, is very rare, very expensive, and was replaced by dustweaving in the Vale/Atlas area. Repairing Ruby's cloak and keeping the aura that makes it so special, as such, is all but impossible. Ruby is unsurprisingly shattered by this, and curls up in their dorm.

- Infuriated, Yang and Adam both march off to beat Cardin like a dog, no matter the consequences. Weiss, refusing to let herself get dragged into this yet insecure about her own ability to comfort Ruby, leaves for the library to wait for her inevitable expulsion alongside the rest of RWAY.

- Weiss is intercepted by Coco and Fox, and with her directions, Yang and Adam are caught beating Cardin(and the rest of his team) by Yatsuhashi and Velvet. Yet, CFVY chooses to brush that under the rug(partially because they were sick of Cardin's crap, too), but Velvet isn't particularly happy about that fact and storms off. It's revealed to Adam by Velvet that her philosophy is from her hometown being destroyed by bandits/Grimm due to the White Fang rushing off to take revenge over protecting the town, as well as her not originally being part of CFVY. She joined this year, and the original member in her place was a now-dead girl named Nel. CFVY was originally 'CFYN'.

- Nel was formerly Yatsuhashi's partner, and helped calm him down from a substantially more violent personality(why he understands Yang). He tries to get Yang to learn to slow down and look at things from a calmer perspective. The loss of a teammate she'd barely gotten to know convinced Coco that she'd better enjoy time with her team as much as possible rather than worry about herself, a lesson she passes on to Weiss.

- While Velvet and Adam aren't buddy-buddy immediately, Adam mulls over the concept of staying back to help those harmed rather than perpetually seek revenge. It is in this state of mind that he realizes that there is something he can do: after all, there's only one other person whose clothing is so connected to their aura...

- Adam secretly(he has a reputation to keep, after all) fixes up Ruby's cloak. Weiss suspects him, but after only a tease of him being a "big softie inside," says nothing to the others. Team RWAY is back in working order.

- Ruby's fight with Cardin is slightly expanded.


Volume 1, Astray(Ch12-18)

- Adam's fight with Pyrrha is expanded and turned to a draw.

- Rather than just an impromptu set of morning training sessions, Adam now runs—after some pushback from Goodwitch—the 'Self Defense Club' which has the same effective goal. Any similarity in initials to a certain controversial company are unsubstantiated.

- The battle between Adam, Weiss and Torchwick is slightly different. Rather than immediately showing off a semblance, he fights with a lot more trickery and smarts. His semblance will just need to be developed later...

- As you can see, not much changed.


Volume 2, Raise the Stakes(Ch19-29)

- Adam is working with Ruby from the beginning, though it is mostly because of Ruby following him since the beginning on his missions to find the truth, much to Adam's annoyance. Such annoyance is only enhanced by Ruby's "anonymous tips" to the media and calling cards earning the new vigilante duo the names of Ace of Spades and Queen of Hearts. Combined, the duo is known to the public as "Blackjack." Much to Adam's further annoyance.

- As a result, Ruby's call-out of Adam on the roof is instead about Adam routinely leaving without her. After enough demands and Ruby admitting she's worried for him, Adam folds and allows her to assist for once, starting a slow, but genuine partnership. More focus in general is placed on Ruby and Adam's pseudo-mentor-student relationship.

- Another pair of Halcyon Days chapters are added: Ruby and Adam's mission to steal information from a warehouse, which results in them running into a few important White Fang figures earlier than they should. Tacet Avalanche gets a scene a little earlier in it, as well as a touch of worldbuilding for faunus in Vale.

- The tension between Cinder and Captain Almond is far higher: the constant pecking away at Almond's White Fang by Adam and Ruby forces him to begin thinking about more extreme measures to stop it, all while constantly fighting the growing suspicion that he knows exactly who is behind the mask of the "Ace of Spades."

- Yang's story of her past is altered. While there are some similarities, it makes sense that she would alter it based on the person she's telling it to: specifically, a much more direct, desperate person getting a much more direct tale. The fact that Adam was an outlaw in Mistral does not escape Yang, however. Nor does the many odd similarities between him and her mother. She asks Adam if he'd known her mother. Adam decides it's best if she never knew of that part of his past.

- Adam's clones are mentioned as a more advanced but particularly costly form of aura projection, and are more integrated with his style.


Volume 2, No Sanctuary(Ch30-40)

- Cinder's reasoning for the Skirmish of Beacon is more concrete: it's a game of brinkmanship. She must take the most punishing moves that she can, but she knows that to move too far—or makes a move against Blake herself—that it will leave no choice for RWAY to go to Ozpin. That could destroy everything she's worked for. Simultaneously, Adam knows and states to the rest that he can't go to Cinder or else her hostage is as good as dead.

- The defector who calls Adam out is now someone who shows up again during the train battle.


Volume 2, Mountain Glenn(Ch41-58)

- No true changes of note were made.